Bridging Borders, Feeding Futures: India-UAE Pathways to Food Security

Image Source: Getty

As the global population inches closer to the 9.7 billion mark by 2050, there has never been a more urgent demand for new food production and distribution networks. In 2023, 2.3 billion people had moderate or severe food insecurity and could not access food regularly. This trend indicates a stark gap in achieving the ambitious goal of eradicating hunger by 2030, as established in Sustainable Development Goal 2. About 582 million people (6.8 percent of the global population) will be chronically undernourished in 2030, about 130 million more undernourished people than in the projections before the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that the world is far off track to attain the desired goal.

According to the Global Food Security Index 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ranked 23rd with a score of 75.2. It certainly excels in affordability (89.8) and availability (78.5) but shows room for improvement in quality and safety (63.7). India is ranked 68^th with a score of 58.9, facing challenges in affordability (64.2), availability (58.4), and food quality (47.0), though it is making efforts in sustainability and climate adaptation. The gap between the UAE and India in food security rankings reflects economic, infrastructural, and policy differences. The UAE's food imports, storage, and technology investments have strengthened its food security. However, India, despite being a major producer, faces challenges like poverty, infrastructure gaps, and quality control issues.

The gap between the UAE and India in food security rankings reflects economic, infrastructural, and policy differences.

To address these challenges, India and the UAE have forged strategic partnerships to improve food security through expanded agriculture trade, technology transfer, and sustainable resource use. The India-UAE-Africa Connectivity for Food Security represents a strategic partnership to enhance food security through agricultural trade, technology transfer, and sustainable resource management. While India is the world’s second-largest food producer, Africa possesses vast natural resources and significant production potential, positioning it as a key player in securing global food security shortly. Conversely, the UAE ranks among the top 20 global food importers, relying on international trade to meet 90 percent of its food needs. This trilateral collaboration is poised to strengthen global food systems, enhance the sustainability of supply chains to ensure food security resilience across all regions, and support regional economic development.

From Farms to Ports: Reshaping Food Supply Chains

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have highlighted the vulnerabilities of food-importing nations, exposing their dependence on external supply chains. The UAE's dependence on a limited number of suppliers, driven by price competitiveness, has further heightened risks. Studies on UAE’s cereal imports indicate that while the overall risk remained low between 2012 and 2020, there has been a growing vulnerability in wheat imports since 2017. This trend is largely due to the UAE’s increasing reliance on high-risk suppliers, particularly Russia, whose share of UAE cereal imports surged from 25 percent in 2017 to 52 percent in 2019, replacing more stable sources like Australia, Romania, and India. This growing reliance on Russia and the consolidation of supply sources pose significant challenges to the UAE’s long-term food security.

Having a mere 0.7 percent arable land, the UAE almost wholly depends on imports to sustain itself with food, and is therefore highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

Additionally, global food security is threatened by climate change through rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and increased severe weather occurrences. These negatively impact farm and livestock production, particularly in developing countries. Having a mere 0.7 percent arable land, the UAE almost wholly depends on imports to sustain itself with food, and is therefore highly vulnerable to food insecurity. Other factors, such as water shortage, groundwater depletion, and rising sea levels, aggravate these risks. To respond to these risks, the UAE National Food Security Strategy 2051 aims to achieve sustainable food production by adopting new technologies and boosting local production.

Cold storage facilities also play a critical role in minimising the wastage and spoilage of food. In India, a lack of refrigeration facilities results in massive losses in perishable food. Similarly, food import dependency in the UAE also demands high-tech cold storage facilities to maintain food quality. For instance, DP World’s recent collaboration with RSA Cold Chain is set to create a state-of-the-art cold storage hub in Jebel Ali, offering 40,000 new pallet positions by 2025​. These efforts are expected to significantly reduce food wastage across the supply chain. Reliable logistics and supply chains provide food security by moving food from producers to consumers.

In 2022, the UAE committed US$2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India. This initiative—part of the I2U2 Group collaboration between India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States—aims to enhance food security through joint investments in agriculture and food processing. Additionally, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre launched Agriota, an agri-trading and commodity platform that connects Indian farmers directly to the UAE's food ecosystem. This platform enables seamless access for Indian farmers to Emirati markets, promoting efficiency and transparency in the supply chain.

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre launched Agriota, an agri-trading and commodity platform that connects Indian farmers directly to the UAE's food ecosystem.

India and the UAE have also signed a US$7 billion food security corridor agreement in 2022— a key initiative to enhance food trade between India and the UAE, expected to triple food trade between the two nations by 2025​. This corridor is designed to link Indian farms and food processing hubs with UAE ports, streamlining trade routes and ensuring the efficient movement of food products between the two nations. India is improving its logistics infrastructure to provide rapid transportation of goods, and new ports and storage facilities are being developed in the UAE. Such corridors can be critical links to Middle Eastern food security, combining transportation innovation, real-time tracking, and digital supply chain management.

The strategic collaboration between India and the UAE exemplifies a forward-looking approach to global food security. By leveraging trade, technology, and sustainable resource management, this initiative strengthens supply chains, mitigates food wastage, and ensures access to nutritious food for vulnerable populations. While challenges such as climate change and logistical barriers persist, continued investments in infrastructure, innovation, and policy coordination can position this partnership as a cornerstone of future global food security frameworks. As the world moves toward 2050, such cooperative models will become essential in overcoming food security challenges and achieving Agenda 2030.

Soumya Bhowmick is a Fellow and Lead, World Economies and Sustainability at the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED) at the Observer Research Foundation.

Shoba Suri is a Senior Fellow with the Health Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation.

• International Affairs
• Climate, Food and Environment
• Sustainable Development
• India
• West Asia
• food security corridor agreement
• global food security index 2022
• global food security threats
• india uae bilateral relations
• india uae food security partnership
• india uae relations
• sdg goal 2
• sustainable development goal 2
• uae india food security corridor

The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.

PREV NEXT